An Inside Look in Eastern Jerusalem: Daily Arab Attacks on Jews

It is not easy to be a Jew near Arab areas. Stone throwing and firebomb attacks appear almost daily, but the police do not.

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Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu, 17/07/12 23:26

Arab youth throws firebomb

Israel news photo: Flash 90

Jews in the Beit Hanina neighborhood of Jerusalem, a hotbed of angry Arabs in one of the areas claimed by the Palestinian Authority, are attacked almost daily by stones and firebombs. Police are passive, according to Jewish residents.

Hezi Hovav told Arutz Sheva there have been dozens of Arab attacks, and he has filed complaints without any results.

In one recent attack, a firebomb (Molotov cocktail) burned one room of a house. Another firebomb was hurled last Thursday at a car.

Hovav also reported that an Arabs used tear gas on a young Jewish man.

He said that the identities of several of the attackers are known, but the police do not taken any action. "Rocks were thrown three weeks ago, and I gave the police an exact description” of the attackers, he said. The police arrested six suspects but then released all of them after a short while.

Citing police passivity when Jews file complaints, Hovav noted that security cameras in a building owned by Arabs recorded an attack but that police did not want to ask the Arab for the film.

On the other hand, when a firebomb was thrown at a house where an illegal infiltrator into the country was living, Hovav said the police were on top of the attack right away with a large force.

In response to Hovav’s report, police stated that they are making an effort to find and arrest suspected attackers.